Labconco Asbestos Exposure: Laboratory Equipment & Claims
Labconco Corporation, originally Laboratory Construction Company, has manufactured laboratory equipment in the United States since 1925. Historical product literature has been reported to identify asbestos in at least one Labconco laboratory product—the No. 1810 Chemical Cart, whose shelves were described as covered with compressed asbestos for resistance to acids, alkalis and heat. Because reliable primary documentation reviewed for this page does not establish that every historical Labconco fume hood, bench, cabinet or other laboratory product contained asbestos, those broader product claims should be investigated individually rather than assumed.
Labconco remains an operating, privately held laboratory-equipment manufacturer headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Court dockets confirm that Labconco has been named in asbestos personal-injury litigation, including a 2020 California action and 2023 Philadelphia asbestos litigation. The primary company, court and government sources reviewed did not establish a Labconco-specific §524(g) asbestos personal-injury trust, bankruptcy reorganization, current trust payment percentage or disease-value schedule, so none are invented on this page.
🏢 Labconco Company History
Labconco’s official history traces the company to 1925, when Phil Goldfisch and Ralph Callaway formed Laboratory Construction Company in Kansas City to serve agricultural laboratories. The company has since expanded into chemical ventilation, biosafety cabinets, freeze dryers, glassware washers, glove boxes, forensic equipment and other laboratory systems. In 2025, Labconco celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Labconco Facts at a Glance
| Topic | Verified Information |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1925 |
| Original name | Laboratory Construction Company |
| Founding location | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Founders identified by company history | Phil Goldfisch and Ralph Callaway |
| Current company | Labconco Corporation |
| Ownership | Privately held |
| Current headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri |
| U.S. manufacturing | Kansas City, Missouri and Fort Scott, Kansas |
| Current business | Laboratory equipment and safety systems |
| Dedicated §524(g) asbestos trust | No Labconco-specific trust confirmed from primary sources reviewed |
Current Labconco Product Categories
| Category | Current Company Description |
|---|---|
| Chemical ventilation | Fume hoods and related laboratory ventilation equipment |
| Biosafety | Biological safety cabinets and laminar-flow equipment |
| Freeze drying | Freeze dryers and sample-preparation equipment |
| Washers / purification | Glassware washers and water-purification systems |
| Containment | Glove boxes, isolators and powder-containment equipment |
| Forensics | Evidence-processing enclosures and related equipment |
Current product categories are provided only to identify the company and should not be interpreted as evidence that modern Labconco products contain asbestos.
🧪 Labconco Laboratory Equipment & Historical Asbestos Evidence
The most specific historical product evidence located during research concerns the Labconco No. 1810 Chemical Cart. A secondary asbestos-product source citing historical Laboratory Construction Company advertising reports that the cart used compressed asbestos on its shelves to withstand acids, alkalis and heat and identifies asbestos-containing Labconco product literature from 1946 and 1949. Because the underlying historical advertisement was not independently recovered from an official company archive or court exhibit during this research, this page labels that evidence transparently instead of expanding it into unsupported claims about every Labconco product line.
Historical Product Evidence
| Product / Category | Evidence Status |
|---|---|
| No. 1810 Chemical Cart | Historical advertising is reported by a secondary asbestos-product source to describe compressed asbestos covering the shelves. |
| 1946 / 1949 Labconco literature | Secondary source reports asbestos-containing product literature from these years; original source should be obtained for claim-specific proof. |
| Historical fume hoods | Labconco manufactured fume hoods, but primary sources reviewed did not establish that every historical Labconco fume hood contained asbestos. |
| Historical laboratory furniture | Labconco made laboratory carts/furniture, but asbestos composition must be established by model and date. |
| Modern Labconco products | No asbestos claim is made based on current product categories. |
Product Accuracy Table
| Claim | Accurate Treatment |
|---|---|
| Labconco was founded in 1925 | Confirmed by Labconco’s official history. |
| Labconco historically manufactured laboratory carts and fume hoods | Confirmed by historical/current company and catalog records. |
| No. 1810 Chemical Cart used compressed asbestos | Reported from historical product advertising by a secondary asbestos-product source; underlying original should be verified for litigation use. |
| Every historical Labconco fume hood contained asbestos | Not established and not claimed. |
| Every historical Labconco laboratory bench or cabinet contained asbestos | Not established and not claimed. |
| Current Labconco products contain asbestos | Not claimed. |
👩🔬 Workers & Laboratory Settings Potentially Relevant to Exposure
If a particular Labconco product is proven to have contained asbestos, the workers most relevant to an exposure investigation would be people who manufactured, installed, repaired, modified, removed or worked close to disturbance of that specific material. Merely working in a laboratory containing Labconco equipment does not establish asbestos exposure.
Worker Groups to Investigate
| Worker Group | Potential Historical Activity |
|---|---|
| Laboratory technicians | Daily use and handling of older laboratory equipment. |
| Scientists / researchers | Use of carts, ventilation equipment and other laboratory systems. |
| Teachers / professors | Work in school and university laboratories containing older equipment. |
| Laboratory maintenance workers | Repair, modification and removal of equipment or heat-resistant components. |
| Facilities workers | Moving, dismantling or renovating laboratory equipment and furniture. |
| Installers | Installing or removing historical laboratory systems. |
| Manufacturing employees | Potential direct material handling if assigned to asbestos-containing historical product production. |
| Nearby workers | Possible bystander exposure only if asbestos-containing material was actually disturbed nearby. |
Relevant Work Settings
| Setting | Why It May Matter |
|---|---|
| University laboratories | Long service lives can leave older laboratory equipment in place for decades. |
| High school laboratories | Older chemistry equipment and furniture may require model/date identification. |
| Industrial laboratories | Frequent equipment use, maintenance and renovation can create product-identification records. |
| Government research laboratories | Purchasing and property records may document historical equipment. |
| Clinical / medical laboratories | Older equipment may have been replaced or serviced over time. |
| Labconco manufacturing facilities | Employment and production records may help identify specific historical materials handled. |
See High-Risk Jobs Asbestos Exposure and Job Site Asbestos Exposure.
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🔧 How Historical Laboratory Equipment Exposure Could Occur
Asbestos generally presents the greatest inhalation concern when an asbestos-containing material is cut, drilled, sanded, broken, deteriorated or otherwise disturbed. For a Labconco claim, the first step is proving that the particular product and component contained asbestos. Only then should the work activity and potential fiber release be evaluated.
Potential Exposure Activities
| Activity | Potential Mechanism if Asbestos Was Present |
|---|---|
| Cutting / drilling | Could release fibers from an asbestos-containing panel, shelf or heat-resistant component. |
| Repair work | Could disturb aged components inside historical laboratory equipment. |
| Equipment modification | Alterations could damage heat- or chemical-resistant materials. |
| Dismantling | Removal of older carts, furniture or ventilation equipment could break suspect materials. |
| Renovation | Laboratory remodeling could disturb equipment as well as unrelated building asbestos. |
| Manufacturing | Cutting or installing asbestos-containing components could create direct occupational exposure if historical records establish such work. |
| Cleanup | Dry sweeping or compressed-air cleaning could redistribute fibers after disturbance. |
Asbestos-Related Conditions
| Condition | General Relationship to Asbestos |
|---|---|
| Mesothelioma | A rare cancer strongly associated with asbestos exposure. |
| Lung cancer | Occupational asbestos exposure can increase lung-cancer risk. |
| Asbestosis | Progressive pulmonary fibrosis caused by inhaled asbestos fibers. |
| Pleural disease | Asbestos exposure can cause pleural plaques, thickening and other abnormalities. |
| Claim-specific causation | A diagnosis alone does not identify Labconco as the source of exposure. |
⚖️ Labconco Asbestos Claims & Current Company Status
Labconco remains an operating private company. Unlike manufacturers whose asbestos liabilities were resolved through Chapter 11 and a §524(g) trust, no comparable Labconco-specific asbestos bankruptcy trust was confirmed in the primary sources reviewed. Court records do show that Labconco has been named as a defendant in asbestos litigation.
Current Claims Structure
| Issue | Verified / Research Status |
|---|---|
| Operating company | Yes; Labconco identifies itself as a privately held laboratory-equipment manufacturer. |
| Named in asbestos litigation | Yes; federal, Philadelphia and Illinois court/docket records identify Labconco in asbestos matters. |
| Dedicated Labconco §524(g) trust | No dedicated trust confirmed from primary sources reviewed. |
| Asbestos bankruptcy date | No Labconco asbestos bankruptcy confirmed. |
| Trust Payment Percentage | Not applicable based on sources reviewed. |
| Trust disease schedule | Not applicable based on sources reviewed. |
| Current nationwide asbestos claim count | No reliable company-wide primary-source total confirmed. |
| Potential claim route | Individual civil claims, subject to product identification, exposure, causation, defenses, jurisdiction and deadlines. |
Claims We Do Not Invent
| Claim / Statistic | Status |
|---|---|
| Every Labconco product contained asbestos | Not supported. |
| Every historical fume hood contained asbestos | Not supported. |
| Company-wide asbestos-use start/stop dates | Not established from primary sources reviewed. |
| Number of people exposed | No reliable total confirmed. |
| Current pending asbestos lawsuits | No reliable company-wide current total confirmed. |
| Labconco trust assets / payment percentage | No dedicated trust confirmed. |
| Guaranteed settlement value | None. |
📊 Documented Labconco Litigation & Government Records
Available court records confirm that Labconco has been named in asbestos litigation, but a docket entry naming a defendant does not establish liability or prove that a specific Labconco product contained asbestos. The outcome and allegations in each case must be read individually.
Selected Records
| Record | What It Establishes |
|---|---|
| Judith Karmon v. 3M Company et al., C.D. California, 2021 federal docket | Labconco Corporation was among defendants in a product-liability action removed from Los Angeles Superior Court. The docket records a January 25, 2021 dismissal of Labconco without prejudice. |
| Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas asbestos docket, 2023 | Labconco appeared as a defendant and counsel entered an appearance on its behalf in an asbestos civil action. |
| Madison County, Illinois asbestos motion docket | Official court docket records identify Labconco motions in asbestos litigation, confirming it has been named in Illinois asbestos cases. |
| OSHA 2013 inspection | Government record confirms Labconco’s Kansas City manufacturing establishment; this inspection is not evidence of historical asbestos product content. |
| OSHA 2018 inspection | Government record confirms Labconco’s Fort Scott, Kansas manufacturing establishment; it should not be mischaracterized as an asbestos finding. |
Litigation Interpretation
| Fact | What It Does / Does Not Mean |
|---|---|
| Labconco named as defendant | Confirms litigation involvement; does not by itself prove exposure or liability. |
| Dismissal without prejudice in Karmon docket | Shows Labconco was dismissed from that action at that stage; it is not a finding that all Labconco products were asbestos-free. |
| Asbestos motion docket entry | Confirms an asbestos case/motion involving Labconco; does not establish the merits without the underlying pleadings/evidence. |
| Historical product advertisement | May support product identification when authenticated and matched to claimant’s equipment and dates. |
| Current Labconco manufacturing | Does not establish anything about composition of a specific historical product. |
📋 Labconco Claim Evidence & Product Identification
A strong Labconco exposure investigation should begin with the equipment itself. Product labels, model numbers, serial numbers, purchase records, historical catalogs and photographs may establish whether the equipment was manufactured by Laboratory Construction Company/Labconco and when. The next step is identifying the exact component alleged to contain asbestos and locating reliable historical evidence of its composition.
Evidence That May Help Document Exposure
- Medical records confirming an asbestos-related disease.
- Employment, school, university or laboratory records.
- Labconco or Laboratory Construction Company product labels.
- Model and serial numbers from surviving equipment.
- Historical Labconco catalogs, advertisements and product manuals.
- Purchase orders, invoices and institutional property records.
- Photographs of the historical equipment and suspect component.
- Maintenance, repair, renovation and disposal records.
- Coworker, professor, technician or facilities-worker testimony.
- Evidence showing how and how often the suspect material was disturbed.
Product-Identification Checklist
| Step | Question |
|---|---|
| 1 | Was the equipment positively identified as Labconco or Laboratory Construction Company? |
| 2 | What model, catalog number and approximate manufacturing date were involved? |
| 3 | What exact component allegedly contained asbestos? |
| 4 | Is there authenticated historical literature, testimony or testing establishing asbestos content? |
| 5 | Was the material original equipment or a later replacement? |
| 6 | What activity disturbed the material? |
| 7 | How frequently and closely did the claimant encounter the dust-producing work? |
| 8 | Were other asbestos sources present in the laboratory or building? |
Compensation is not guaranteed. Claim viability and value depend on disease, product identification, asbestos-content evidence, exposure history, causation, jurisdiction, defenses, insurance and filing deadlines.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is Labconco?
Labconco Corporation is a privately held U.S. laboratory-equipment manufacturer founded in Kansas City in 1925 as Laboratory Construction Company. It continues operating today.
Did Labconco make laboratory equipment containing asbestos?
Historical product literature reported by a secondary asbestos-product source identifies the No. 1810 Chemical Cart as having shelves covered with compressed asbestos. The original advertisement should be authenticated for claim-specific use.
Did every historical Labconco fume hood contain asbestos?
No reliable primary source reviewed establishes that every Labconco fume hood contained asbestos. Model, manufacturing date and component evidence should be investigated individually.
Who may have encountered asbestos from historical Labconco equipment?
If a specific Labconco product contained asbestos, potentially relevant workers could include laboratory technicians, researchers, teachers, facilities employees, equipment installers, maintenance workers and manufacturing employees who disturbed the asbestos-containing component.
Has Labconco been named in asbestos lawsuits?
Yes. Court dockets confirm that Labconco has been named in asbestos litigation in jurisdictions including California, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Being named as a defendant does not by itself establish liability.
Does Labconco have an asbestos bankruptcy trust?
No Labconco-specific §524(g) asbestos personal-injury trust was confirmed from the primary company, court and government sources reviewed.
Is Labconco still in business?
Yes. Labconco celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025 and continues manufacturing laboratory equipment in the United States.
What evidence may support a Labconco asbestos claim?
Useful evidence can include medical records, laboratory employment or school records, equipment labels, model and serial numbers, historical catalogs and advertisements, purchase records, photographs, maintenance records and credible witness testimony establishing both the product and asbestos-containing component.
🧾 Labconco Summary
| Detail | Confirmed / Carefully Qualified Information |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1925 |
| Original name | Laboratory Construction Company |
| Founding location | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Current status | Operating, privately held laboratory-equipment manufacturer |
| Current manufacturing | Kansas City, Missouri and Fort Scott, Kansas |
| Specific historical asbestos product identified in research | No. 1810 Chemical Cart, based on reported historical advertising; original source should be authenticated |
| Asbestos litigation | Official court dockets confirm Labconco has been named in asbestos cases |
| Dedicated §524(g) asbestos trust | No dedicated Labconco trust confirmed |
| Bankruptcy | No asbestos bankruptcy reorganization confirmed |
| Current trust percentage / disease values | Not applicable based on sources reviewed |
| Nationwide exposure total | No reliable figure confirmed |
| Guaranteed compensation | No |
📚 Confirmed Sources & Evidence Notes
- Labconco Corporation — official company history and 2025 centennial materials confirming its 1925 Kansas City origin, 100-year operating history and current laboratory-equipment business.
- Labconco Corporation — official company page confirming that Labconco is privately held and currently manufactures laboratory equipment.
- Labconco Corporation — official U.S.-manufacturing page confirming Kansas City and Fort Scott manufacturing operations.
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California docket — Judith Karmon v. 3M Company et al., confirming Labconco was named in a product-liability action and later dismissed without prejudice in that proceeding.
- Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas — official asbestos docket confirming Labconco’s appearance as a defendant in 2023 asbestos litigation.
- Madison County, Illinois Circuit Court — official asbestos motion docket identifying Labconco in asbestos litigation.
- U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration — establishment records confirming Labconco manufacturing locations; these OSHA records are not treated as evidence of asbestos product content.
- Historical-product evidence note — the No. 1810 Chemical Cart compressed-asbestos description was located through a secondary asbestos-product source citing historical Laboratory Construction Company advertising. Because the underlying original advertisement was not independently recovered in this research, the page does not expand that evidence into unsupported claims about other Labconco products.
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Call 800.291.0963
Live chat is available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Submit Your Case
Working in a laboratory containing Labconco equipment does not automatically establish asbestos exposure, disease causation, legal liability or compensation. The specific equipment, model, manufacturing period, asbestos-containing component, work activity, exposure history and medical evidence must be evaluated individually. Compensation is not guaranteed.
⚕️ Legal & Medical Information Disclaimer
This page provides general educational information and is not legal or medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional about diagnosis and treatment and a qualified attorney about individual legal rights and filing deadlines.